Martyn puts hand up

Australian batsman Damien Martyn is keen to open the batting in Saturday morning's tour-opening Twenty20 match with South Africa at the Wanderers ground.

The Western Australian punished the Proteas in the newest form of the game last month, batting himself to exhaustion as he smashed 96 from 56 balls as Australia roared to a 95-run victory at the Gabba.

The match preceded the VB Series, which Australia won after defeating Sri Lanka 2-1 in the best-of-three finals series.

While the Australians are expecting a hot reception from the South African crowds, they will at least carry good memories to the Wanderers ground, the scene of their 2003 World Cup triumph when they annihilated India to win back-to-back titles.

"Just coming back here... it's always going to be a special venue for a lot of the players," Martyn told AAP.

"It's such a great venue. We love playing here."

"The wicket is great and the crowd is fantastic."

The Australians will play five one-dayers against the Proteas, with the first match on Monday, before a three-Test series during March and April.